My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 114: Wanderlust

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We pulled apart just a bit, enough to catch our breath, but not enough to lose the warmth buzzing between us. Ethan’s hands were still firmly at my waist, his thumbs drawing small, absent-minded circles on my sweater, almost as if he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. Maybe it was the sunset, the twinkling fairy lights, or the way he looked at me, but I leaned in before I could second-guess myself.

I cupped his face, stood on my toes, and kissed him again slowly, surely, and a little breathless. His embrace tightened around my waist, like he was afraid I might slip away, and the faint scent of his cologne...warm and familiar—wrapped around me like an extra hug.

When I pulled back, my heart raced, and his smile was bright enough to make my knees weak.

"Well," he said, brushing a thumb across my cheek, "I think I should do this kind of thing more often... if this is the reward."

I laughed, nudging his shoulder with mine, trying and failing to hide how flustered I felt. "Don’t get cocky now."

"It’s not cocky," he replied, leaning in a little closer, his voice dropping to a softer tone. "There’s nothing I love more than making you smile."

My breath caught. Completely. His eyes—those bright blue eyes...held mine like he was trying to memorize me, as if the moment mattered. A warm blush rushed to my cheeks, embarrassing and impossible to hide, and I had to look away before my knees actually gave out.

I smiled anyway. Then, before I could lose my nerve, I leaned up again and planted a shy kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. This is... really wonderful, Ethan."

He swallowed, looking a bit stunned by my affection before finding my hand. "Come on," he murmured, gently pulling me toward the blanket. "Sit with me."

We settled onto the soft fabric, close enough that our legs brushed against each other. I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, letting my gaze wander out over the cliff.

Willow Haven sprawled below us...warm lights flickering on one by one in houses and along the streets, the soft orange glow of sunset painting the rooftops gold. From up here, the city seemed peaceful. Almost delicate. It felt like the world wasn’t packed with secrets and mysteries, with murder investigations and stepbrothers who made my head spin every couple of minutes.

Up here, everything felt serene.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Ethan said quietly beside me.

Without thinking, I leaned my head against his shoulder. "Yeah," I whispered. "It really is."

We sat on the blanket, cross-legged, with food spread out between us like something out of a cozy indie movie—strawberries, little sandwiches, chocolate-covered pretzels, and a thermos of hot chocolate that still steamed in the cooling air. I nibbled on a strawberry, letting the sweetness linger on my tongue as I kept stealing glances at the view... and then at him.

Curiosity eventually got the better of me.

"How did you even find this place?" I asked, brushing a crumb off my sweater. "I’ve lived in Willow Haven my whole life and had no idea this existed. It feels like a hidden treasure."

Ethan paused mid-sip of hot chocolate. His expression shifted a bit, like I’d tugged on a thread he wasn’t sure about unraveling. He looked out over the city, his jaw tightening.

"I, um... found it a long time ago," he replied. "Five years, I think."

"When you were thirteen?" I tilted my head, surprised. "How were you even wandering this far out?"

Mom never let me go anywhere on my own even at that age except for places like school.

He hesitated again. The wind rustled through the trees, the light dimming into deeper sunset hues, yet he remained quiet. That small flicker of discomfort in his eyes made my stomach twist with worry.

"Ethan?" I said softly, nudging his knee with mine. "Hey...you can tell me. If you want to."

He took a slow breath, exhaling as if releasing something heavy he’d been holding in.

"I found this place," he murmured, "when I tried to run away from home."

Those words hung in the air between us. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

My heart ached, and I set my half-eaten strawberry down. "Run away?" I whispered. "Ethan... why?"

He let out a small, strained laugh, one without any humor and started to pick at the corner of the blanket. That was when he hesitated again this time was longer. The scent of pine danced in the air, brushing over us as the sky shifted into deeper shades of orange and rose, but still, he didn’t answer.

His shoulders slumped a little, like my simple invitation undid whatever defenses he had. He kept his gaze fixed on the city lights flickering to life far below us.

"My parents."

I frowned, confused. "What did they do?"

"Exactly." He finally looked down at his hands, picking at a thread on the blanket. "They were never home. Always traveling, always ’discovering themselves’ or checking something off their bucket list...New York, Paris, Dubai, Tokyo, everywhere but here."

The hurt in his voice was subtle, but it was there, nestled under the calmness in the way he spoke.

"They left me with my uncle, acting as if that was enough," he continued. "But... it wasn’t the same. I’d go weeks without a word from them. Sometimes months. They’d post more about their trips online than they ever asked about how I was doing."

My heart squeezed painfully.

"I don’t think they even realized how lonely I felt," he said softly. "At thirteen, that kind of loneliness can feel like... like the whole world is closing in on you."

The setting sun caught the side of his face, casting him in warm light that made the sadness in his eyes stand out even more.

"So one day, I packed a bag," he went on, chuckling quietly, a bit self-deprecating. "Some snacks, a water bottle, four hundred dollars I’d saved from birthday money. And I just... left. Walked straight into the woods. No plan, no destination. Just knew I didn’t want to stay home."

I moved closer, instinctively finding his hand with mine.

He didn’t look at me, but he let his fingers curl around mine.

"I was scared," he admitted. "Angry. Tired of feeling like my little brother and I didn’t matter to them. I walked until I had blisters, until the sun began to set and I was terrified I’d never find my way back. Then... I found this cliff."

He finally turned toward me, slowly, as if afraid of what I might see in him.

"It was the first time I felt calm. The first time everything stopped hurting for even a minute. So I stayed. And I kept coming back whenever things got too loud or too empty."

A warm breeze ruffled his hair, and his eyes softened.

"And now," he said quietly, "I wanted you to see it. You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to share it with."

My chest tightened with warmth and something overwhelming.